Automation conference in Qatar set to tackle key role of cybersecurity in oil and gas sector

Industries in Qatar, particularly those in the oil and gas sector, are putting a premium on upgrading their systems, including cybersecurity, an official of the International Society of Automation (ISA) has said.Qatar has developed a national standard for cybersecurity, which is in line with international standards like ISA 99 and IEC 62443, said ISA Qatar Section President Nilangshu Dey during a recently held press conference to announce the upcoming ‘Automation Conference 2023’ slated on September 25 in Doha.ISA 99 "defines standards and if compromised may lead to economic loss, threats to national security, employee safety, or violations of the law,” and IEC 62443 "is an international series of standards that address cybersecurity for operational technology in automation and control systems.”"Since 2013, Qatar has taken a very high level of initiative to upgrade its systems, mainly in the oil and gas industries in compliance with the national standards on cybersecurity requirements,” Dey explained, adding that the ISA "is involved” in developing Qatar’s national cybersecurity standards on plant industrial control systems.He stressed that the conference, which will be held at Radisson Blu Hotel under the theme ‘Digitalisation in Oil and Gas Industry’, will cover global cybersecurity standards that could benefit the participants of the event, especially those based in Qatar.The conference will be attended by automation industry leaders from England, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Canada, the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, India, Pakistan, and Portugal, Dey noted.He said more than 200 international delegates are expected to attend the conference, which will be addressed by nine industry experts who will be presenting their papers during the full-day event."International professionals, including those in Qatar could benefit from the knowledge and techniques to be shared during the conference, which they could then implement when upgrading their systems in the future."Qatar’s automation engineers and control engineers in all oil and gas companies, as well as automation vendors worldwide would be made aware and educated in defining their respective roadmaps for future industry control systems, including cybersecurity,” Dey further explained.According to Dey, industries worldwide used to allocate 7% of the total cost of their plant facilities for automation systems. But today, this has gone up from 15% to 17% because of the increasing need for robust cybersecurity systems, he noted.ISA Qatar Section organising committee member Omer bin Abdul Aziz also said the worldwide value of operational technology (OT) in cybersecurity was $22bn in 2022 and it is expected to increase to $35bn in 2027.Aside from the ‘Automation Conference 2023’, Dey said the ‘ISA EMEA Regional District Leaders Council Annual Meet’ will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Doha on September 26 and 27. As many as 15 ISA leaders from different countries are expected to participate in the event, he said.ISA Secretary Radouane Zid stressed that Qatar is the first country in the Middle East to host the international automation leaders meet. In the last 75 years, the district leaders meeting were being conducted in different European countries, he said.